Paper or Plastic?

So, we all get this question everytime we go grocery shopping, paper or plastic? Which is best for the environment? This is actually a trick question. Plastic can kill wildlife from it blowing around and animals eating or suffocating on the bag. Paper uses more energy to make. They both take about the same amount of time to break down in a landfill. Both can be recycled but it takes more energy to recycle plastic than paper. We use 12 million barrels of oil to make plastic bags in one year but we use 14 million trees for paper bags.

Now that you know a few facts its really up to you on how you want to impact the environment. The best option is obviously reusable bags and you can watch for sales on these and the price keeps going down. Also, some stores give you a discount or money for bringing back the plastic bags from their store.

What to do when you have those random plastic bags that end up at your house? Reuse if at all possible! I use them for trash can liners and always keep an extra in the diaper bag in case the wet bag gets full from the cloth diapers.